Economics for the Earth Blog

Friends of the Earth statement on the Progressive Caucus budget proposal

Posted Mar. 13, 2013 / Posted by: Ben Schreiber

Washington, D.C. -- Friends of the Earth Tax Analyst Ben Schreiber provided the following statement in support of the House Progressive Caucus’s release of the Back to Work Budget today:

“If you listen to the budget debate in Washington too long, you almost start to believe that austerity is inevitable, and that the only choice left is how to allocate the suffering. It is refreshing that the House Progressive Caucus has come up with a positive vision for moving the country forward. It serves as a reminder that we don’t need to cut teachers and school lunches when we can eliminate wasteful giveaways to fossil fuel corporations.

“The Back to Work Budget would allow us to make polluters pay for the damage they are causing, while using the revenue to invest in the clean energy technologies of the future -- rather than continuing our addiction to dirty energy, as proposed in the Ryan plan yesterday. Similarly, taxing Wall Street gamblers, who plunged us into the current economic downturn, could pay some of the costs of their recklessness, rather than force us to make painful cuts to priorities such as clean water and national parks. The Back to Work Budget is a needed reminder that we can solve our budget problems in ways that are consistent with our common values, rather than sacrifice the environment, public health, and the most vulnerable in our society.”

For more on Friends of the Earth’s vision for socially just and environmentally responsible budget solutions, see a 2011 journalist memo.